Device for protecting piles, &amp;c.



PATENTBD AUG. 29, 1905.

P. AYLBTT. DEVICE FOR PROTEGTING PILES &c.

APPLICATION FILED SBPT.7,' 1904.

Jameson UNIEE STATES PATENT FFIUE.

PHILIP AYLETT, OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA.

DEVICE FOR PROTECTING PILES, &o.

Application filed September 7.1904. Serial No. 223,645.

To @ZZ tch/0m, it nca/y concern: u

Be it known that I, PHILIP AYLETT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Portsmouth, in the county of Norfolk and State of Virginia,have invented a new and useful Device for Protecting Piles and SimilarSubmerged Woodwork, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in devices for protecting pilesand similar submerged woodwork.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofdevices for protecting iles and similar submerged woodwork emp oyed inthe construction of wharves, bridges, abutments, and analogousstructures and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient deviceadapted to be applied to and removed from a pile or the like withoutaffecting the structure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pile-protector whichmay be either applied while a wharf, bridge, or other structure is beingconstructed or after the same has been completed and which will becapable of effectually protecting such submerged woodwork from theravages of the ship-worm and other marine insects.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pile-protector whichwill always rest upon the bottom of a stream or other body of water toprotect a pile from the mud-line to a point above the surface of thewater and which will be automatically adjustable and gradually descendas the bottom of such stream or other body of water changes throughscour or other cause.

The invention also has for its object to provide a pile-protector whichmay be manipulated from the top when it is desired to place it inposition -or remove it or increase its length.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination and arrangement of parts,

' hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings,and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood thatvarious changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details ofconstruction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of thein- .vention.

In the drawings, Figure l is an elevation,

Specification of Letters Patent.

l protect a pile from the mud -line to a point Patented Aug. 29, 1905.

partly in section, of a structure provided at the submerged portions ofits woodwork with pile-protectors constructed in accordance with thisinvention. l Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of two of the pipes ofthe adj ustable tubularpile-casing, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same,the .pile being in section. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional viewillustrating a slight modification of the means for interlocking thepipes together. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view illustratinganother modification of the invention and showing two pipes connected byand interlocked with a sectional collar or coupling. Fig. 6 is ahorizontal sectional view of the same. Fig. 7 is a detail verticalsectional view showing another form of collar or coupling.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

l designates al tubular pile casing composed of one or more pipes 2, ofterra-cotta or any other suitable material which will be unaffected bysea-water. The pipes of the tubular casing are interlocked at theirends, as hereinafter described, and a casing may thereby be constructedof any desired length to suit the depth of water and to allow for anydesired change in the bottom of a stream or other body of water. Thelength of the tubular pile-casing may be increased from time to time, ashereinafter explained, to

above the surface of the water, and the internal diameter of the casingis in excess of the diameter of the pile to provide an interveningspace, which receives a packing 3 of loose material, such as sand,cinders, gravel, or any other suitable material. A mixture of sand andgravel will be found exceedingly effective, and this packing will permitthe `pile-casing to descend as the mud-line is lowered by the washingaway of the bottom. Also the packing or 'filling of loose material willnot interfere with the removal of the tubular pile casing, which may bereadily lifted from the top, thereby obviating the necessity ofintroducing a hook beneath the lower end of the pile-casing, whichoperation is necessary when the pipes are not connected, as hereinafterexplained. When removing the pile-casing, the packing or filling can beconveniently washed away by the use of a small hand-pump, if desired.

Each of the pipes 2 of the tubular casing is divided longitudinally andis composed of a plurality of sections 4, whichv are connected at theircontiguous longitudinal Aedges by scarf lock-joints 5, havinglongitudinal keys 6, of wood or other suitable material. These keys,which extend from the top to the bottom of the body portions of thesections 4, are wedge-shaped, being tapered. upwardly to enable themwhen removing the pile-easing to be readily loosened or driven out byblows upon their upper ends. By dividing the pipes longitudinally theymay be readily placed around a pile without affecting the structure ofwhich the pile forms a part, and the piles may be protected after suchstructure has been erected. The sections may be cast or molded in anydesired manner, as will be readily understood, and although only twosections are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, yet it will bereadily understood that the pipes may be constructed of anydesirednumber ofl sections. The upper ends 7 of the pipes are enlargedto from sockets for the reception of the lower or spigot ends 8 of thecontiguous sections. lhe socket ends are provided with inwardlyextendingcurved flanges 9, which form grooves and which are spaced apart, asclearly shown in Fig. 3. The spigot ends S are provided withoutwardlyextendingv curved flanges 10, which are adapted to lit in thegrooves and interlock with the inwardly-extending flanges 9. The spacebetween the ends of the inwardly-extending flanges 9 are of a size topermit the outwardly-extending flanges to be introduced into theenlarged ends or sockets, and by ro.- tating the pipes a quarter of arevolution the flanges are interlocked by carrying theoutwardly-extending flanges 10 beneath the inwardly-extending flanges 9.This partial rotation of the pipes also causes them to break joints, asindicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The pipes are also preferablyenlarged adj acent to their spigot ends, as shown inl Fig. 2, toincrease the strength of the device. The flanges or projecting portionsof the ends 7 and S are provided with horizontal engaging faces, asillustrated in Fig. 2; but the pipes may be detachably interlocked bybevel or Wedge shaped engaging portions 11 and 12, as illustrated inFig. 4 of the drawings.

In Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings is illustrated another modification ofthe invention, in which the pipes 13 are detachably connected by meansof a sectional collar or coupling 14. The sections 'of the collar orcoupling are connected byscarf lock-joints 15, having removablytaperedor Wedgeshaped keys 16, of wood or other suitable material. 4,inclusive, of the drawings the ends ofthe keys abut against the ends ofthe adjacentpipes, and the said keys are wholly concealed within thetubular casing and are thereby ln the form illustrated in Figs. 1toprotected; but in the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the keys may becoated or otherwise treated to protect them. The sectional collar orcoupling 14 is provided with opposite grooves 17 for the reception ofannular flanges 1S of the pipes 13. The upper and lower ends19 and 20 ofthe pipes may be beveled, as shown in Fig. 5, or square shoulders orseats may be employed, as shown at 21 in Fig. 7 of the drawings.

The packing which excludes the water from the casing may be convenientlyintroduced into the same Aby means of a flexibler tube or pipe 22,designed to be carried by a car 23, as shown in Fig. 1. The flexiblepipe is provided at its upper end with a hopper or funnel 24, land ithas a tapering discharge nozzle or end 25, which is adapted to extendinto a sectional funnel 26. The sectional funnel 26 is adapted to beplaced around a pile and fitted within the upper end of the pile-casing,as shown in Fig. l.

The pile-protector, which may be applied to the piles of a structureafter the same has been completed, as well as while the structure isbeing erected, is manipulated from the top by placing the pipe-sectionsaround a pile and interlocking or connecting the pipes, which aresuccessively lowered until a pilecasing is constructed of a length toextend from the mud-line to a, point above the surface of the water. Thebottom pipe is partially embedded in the mud vthrough the weight of thecasing, and the latter is adapted to drop or descend automatically asthe bottom is Washed away. By this operation the pile-casing is adaptedto automatically maintain its position upon the bottom of a stream orother body of water, andthe submerged woodwork is elfectually protectedfrom the mud-line to a point above the surface. TheA pile-casing may beremoved without affecting the structure, as it is lifted from the top,the sections being successively removed. When the pile-casingis removed,it may be used' again, as it is not affected by sea-water or ybyship-worms or other marine insects.

The sections may be made of any desired length, and when a pile-casingis applied to a crooked pile the sections by being made in short lengthsand by being constructed to allow a limited play at the joints may bereadily arranged to fit such crooked pile.

TOO

IIO

Also by protecting the pile only from the mud-line to a point above thesurface of the water apile-protector of a minimum length is provided,and the cost is also reduced to a minimum and. is ymuch less than wherean entire pile is protected.

In the above specification l have described in illustration of myinvention a form of pipe or casing which in itself is a new and usefulinvention applicable to many other uses. l do not claim herein this pipeor conduit as an article of manufacture nor the method of building it,as I have made other applicationsto wit, Serial Nos. 258,771 and258,772, filedMay 4, 1905-for these improvements.

Having thus fully described my invention,

- what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A pile-protector, comprising a tubular casing extending upward fromthe mud-line or bottom and movable independently of a pile to maintainitself automatically upon such bottom..

2. A pile-protector, comprising a tubular casing adapted to be arrangedaround a pile and extending upward from the mud-line or bottom, saidcasing being movable independently of the pile and adapted to maintainitself automatically on the bottom, and a filling or packing interposedbetween the casing and the pile.

3. A pile-protector, comprising a tubular casing adapted to be arrangedaround a pile and extending upward from the mud-line or bottom, saidcasing being movable independently of the pile and adapted to maintainitself automatically on the bottom, and a filling or packing interposedbetween the casing and the pile, said filling or packing consisting ofloose material.

4. A pile-protector, comprising a tubular casing adapted to receive apile and movable independently thereof and arranged to rest upon thebottom of a stream or other body of water, said casing being composed ofa plurality of pipes detachably connected.

5. A pile-protector, comprising a tubular casing movable independentlyof a pile and composed of separable sections adapted to be placed aroundthe pile, and means for detachably connecting the sections.

6. A pile-protector, comprising a tubular casing movable independentlyof a pile and divided longitudinally to form separate sections, andmeans for detachably connecting the sections.

7. A pile-protector, comprising a tubularl casing movable independentlyof a pile and composed of a plurality of pipes detachably connected attheir adjacent ends, each pipe being divided longitudinally to provideseparable sections.

8. A pile-protector, comprising a tubular casing composed of a pluralityof longitudinally-divided pipes detachably connected at their adjacentends, and a packing or filling of loose material interposed between thecasing and the pile.

9. A pile-protector, comprising a plurality of longitudinally-dividedpipes having overlapped longitudinal joints, and longitudinal keysextending through the pipes and concealed within the same.

10. A pile-protector, comprising a tubular casing composed oflongitudinally-divided pipes, and upwardly-tapered keys locking thesections of the pipes together and extending substantially the entirelength vof the pipes.

11. A pile-protector, comprising a tubular casing movable independentlyof a pile and composed of a plurality of longitudinally-divided pipes,the longitudinal joints of one pipe being located at the intervalsbetween the corresponding joints of the adjacent pipes, and meansfordetachably connecting the pipes.

12. A pile-protector, comprisinga tubular casing adapted to receive apile and movable independently thereof and arranged to rest upon thebottom of a stream or other body of water, said casing being composed ofa plurality of pipes.

13. A pile-protector, comprising a tubular casing composed of separablesections, and means for detachably securing the sections together, saidmeans embodying an overlapped joint, and a removable key extendingthrough the joint.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

PHILIP AYLETT.

Witnesses:

S. R. MOORE, W. C. WATSON.

